Philosophy of Physics Archives - Page 3 of 5 - The Rotman Institute of Philosophy

Gravity and Geometry: Centenary Perspectives on General Relativity Conference Playlist Created on the Rotman YouTube Channel

Gravity and Geometry: Centenary Perspectives on General Relativity Conference Playlist Created on the Rotman YouTube Channel

The Gravity and Geometry: Centenary Perspectives on General Relativity conference was held this past June, here at Western. Participants presented physical, philosophical, and historical reflections on Einstein’s theory of gravity and space-time geometry, its development over the past century, and its future prospects. Invited speakers at the conference included John Norton, Kaća Bradonjić, and Carla [...]

Deborah Fox2015-10-02T12:57:50-04:00October 1st, 2015|Einstein at Rotman, Events, Philosophy of Physics|

#TBT Andrew Janiak’s lecture, “Three Concepts of Cause in Newton’s Thought”, is up on the Rotman YouTube Channel

#TBT Andrew Janiak’s lecture, “Three Concepts of Cause in Newton’s Thought”, is up on the Rotman YouTube Channel

During the 2010/2011 Rotman Institute of Philosophy Speaker Series, Andrew Janiak, of Duke University, delivered a lecture entitled, “Three Concepts of Cause in Newton’s Thought”. His lecture examined how Newton’s assertion that objects spread across space can interact causally is related to his endorsement of the traditional metaphysical concepts of substance and of causation. Video [...]

Deborah Fox2015-08-06T11:06:57-04:00August 6th, 2015|Events, Philosophy of Physics|

Guest post: Roger Colbeck on the cryptographic legacy of EPR

Follow up to last-week's post on the EPR paper, a guest post by Roger Colbeck on its significance for cryptography.80 years ago, Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen put to paper an argument that the use of the wave function for describing the state of a physical system is incomplete [7]. Looking back, it is remarkable to [...]

Wayne2015-05-23T10:33:21-04:00May 23rd, 2015|Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Science|

EPR, 80 years on

Wayne C. Myrvold80 years ago, in the May 15, 1935 issue of Physical Review, a remarkable paper was published, whose impact on our thinking about the world has been substantial, in ways that would, perhaps, have astonished the authors. The paper was concerned with a very abstract point about the nature of physical reality. But [...]

Wayne2016-01-29T11:51:19-05:00May 15th, 2015|Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Science|

Robert DiSalle: Gravity, Geometry, Philosophy: 100 Years in Einstein’s Universe

Robert DiSalle: Gravity, Geometry, Philosophy: 100 Years in Einstein’s Universe

Published on Mar 5, 2015 One hundred years ago, in November 1915, Albert Einstein achieved his long-sought theory of gravitation: the General Theory of Relativity. In developing the General Theory, Einstein brought together ideas from philosophy, mathematics, and physics, to create a remarkable new conception of gravity, space, and time. His work is a model [...]

Martin2015-03-05T15:06:09-05:00March 5th, 2015|Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Science|

Announcing Einstein@Rotman 2015

Announcing Einstein@Rotman 2015

One hundred years ago, in November 1915, Albert Einstein achieved his long-sought theory of gravitation: the General Theory of Relativity. In developing the General Theory, Einstein brought together ideas from philosophy, mathematics, and physics, to create a remarkable new conception of gravity, space, and time. His work is a model of the engagement between philosophy [...]

robread2015-02-19T15:08:49-05:00January 5th, 2015|Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Science, Rotman News|

Nov 14: Peter Achinstein – What is a Theory of Everything and why should we want one?

Nov 14: Peter Achinstein – What is a Theory of Everything and why should we want one?

Peter Achinstein of Johns Hopkins University is visiting the Rotman Institute next week, and will give two talks. His talk on Thursday, November 13 will engage with the history and philosophy of science, and his public talk on November 14 will be aimed at a more public audience (but also of interest to philosophers). What is [...]

robread2015-08-07T14:50:00-04:00November 7th, 2014|Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Science, Science and Society|

Why Talk to Philosophers? Part IV.

Wayne Myrvold Here's the latest in our series of physicists writing about the value of philosophy: Ivette Fuentes on the interplay between science and philosophy (and also science and the arts!) Science and philosophy share common goals. They aim at developing and deepening our understanding of reality, at uncovering the basic constituents of the Universe [...]

Wayne2014-07-01T08:50:50-04:00July 1st, 2014|Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Science|

Why Talk to Philosophers? Part III.

Wayne Myrvold Continuing our series of physicists writing about what they find vaulable in philosophy and in talking to philosophers, here's Lee Smolin. My knowledge of the history and philosophy of physics helps me understand the challenges, frustrations and puzzles I encounter in my research, by putting them in the context of the long history [...]

Wayne2014-06-25T09:15:01-04:00June 25th, 2014|Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Science|

Why Talk to Philosophers? Part II.

Wayne Myrvold Continuing our series of physicists talking about why they find philosophy valuable (Part I here), here's Carlo Rovelli. The recent dismissive remarks about philosophy by Neil deGrasse Tyson reopen a debate which I think is worthwhile reopening. Neil deGrasse Tyson is not the only one to consider philosophy useless for science. Many of my [...]

Wayne2014-06-24T19:28:32-04:00June 24th, 2014|Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Science|